Mail received at a post office or other location is sorted or otherwise processed so that it can be directed to a desired location. To accomplish this function, sortation machines with output pockets are used to sort various mail product. Typically, the product that arrives in the output pockets of a sortation machine is removed manually and placed in movable containers, trays, or other containing devices so that it can be moved through additional sortation processes or dispatched to arrive at its intended destination. As an example, letters sorted on a Delivery Bar Code Sorter (DBCS) arrive in letter trays. An operator manually moves the letters from the trays onto a feeder load ledge to begin the sort process. Once sorted to the sorter pockets of the DBCS, an operator removes the letters from the output pockets, a handful at a time, and places them in a labeled letter tray so they can be transported to the next processing step. In addition to being manually intensive, this process is prone to operator error. For example, an operator may accidently drop a handful of mail or place the mail in the wrong tray, thereby losing an intended order of the mail or sending it to the wrong location. A portable bridge is sometimes used to bridge the distance between individual output pockets and corresponding trays, but this type of bridge is cumbersome and takes time to transport from one set of output pockets/trays to another.
Therefore, it is now recognized that a need exists for an efficient and simple to operate mechanism that would eliminate the errors that naturally occur through operators manually removing items from sorter output pockets and placing those items in containing devices for processing or delivery.